In the manufacturing process, metals and other materials can be manipulated through various machining processes. During these processes, liquids are often applied to serve as lubricants and coolants. Depending on the material composition and the specific manufacturing needs, the liquid can be quite costly. The process inevitably results in waste consisting of material and liquid. Any material or liquid that could be saved and reused, or properly disposed of, could provide significant savings.
Costs associated with the disposal or recycling of the material waste are increased if liquid remains below or above the surface of the material following the manufacturing process. Liquid used during a specific process may leave a material unusable until that liquid has been nearly completely separated from the material. Further, an efficient and thorough separation of the manufacturing material and the liquid can assure that material and liquid reuse is maximized. This in turn makes it more likely that reusable material or liquid is not being disposed of with the unusable or unwanted waste.
Further, various governmental laws and regulations require proper disposal and removal of many defined materials and liquids. If these laws and regulations are not specifically followed, costly fines and other penalties may be imposed. An efficient separation and compaction process facilitates conformity with these requirements.
Present material compacting apparati are so-called briqueting machines that carry out numerous steps to create a block of compacted material. The machines compact relatively comminuted shavings and scrap. The key to these machines is the repetitive hydraulic or mechanical steps that are performed on each block of material against a resistive gate.
These machines focus the compaction process on this repetitive gate system. Material waste is fed into a compaction chamber. This compaction chamber generally consists of a ramming device and a gate, at opposing ends. The material waste is fed into the chamber so that it rests in between the ramming device and the gate. One or more compaction stages are performed on the material. Generally, an initial compaction stage advances the ramming device under low pressure, loosely compacting the material under pressure against the gate. This ramming device will be driven by either hydraulic or mechanical means. The mechanical means can function in the same manner as a mechanical device (i.e., punch press), or other like devices, for repeatedly advancing the ramming device forward, thus pressing the material against the gate.
Following initial compression, a second compaction stage generally occurs where the loosely compacted waste is subject to high pressure from the ramming device against the gate. Desired compression levels and ramming steps and/or energy are directly related, and as such, a highly compacted mass of material requires significant ramming steps and/or exerted energy on the material. After compaction is complete the machine must engage in several motions or steps just to eject the material block and to set up for the next grouping of material. The ramming device must retract and the gate must be raised or relocated from its end position in the compaction chamber in order to allow for the ejection of the material. The ramming device is then operated at low pressure in a forward direction to discharge the compacted material waste from the compaction chamber. Upon discharge of the block, the ramming device and the gate must move back to their original positions in the compaction chamber. This repetitive process must be performed for each individual grouping of material loaded into the compaction chamber.
There is an innate inefficiency embodied within the processes utilized by these conventional compaction machines. Wasted motion and energy is inevitable within any of these systems that rely on a gate system. A continuous compaction process is impossible to achieve. The wasted movement of the ramming device within a gate system means that such a device will unnecessarily increase manufacturing time and energy costs. Any attempt to reduce the processes or ramming steps will inevitably result in a reduction in the level of compaction and liquid separation.
Even when conventionally acceptable ramming steps and exerted energy levels are utilized, material compaction and liquid separation are not optimal. While the current machines do significantly compact and remove liquid from the surfaces and interior of the material waste, there is room for sizeable improvement. Consequently, a more efficient and effective machine is needed to minimize costs and to maximize material compaction and liquid separation.